Florida Corvette Club Inc. - The Most Active Club In Florida

Amelia Island
July 29, 2006

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On July 29th the FCC planned a day trip to Amelia Island. We met at 6:30 at 46 and I4 and caravanned up I4 to 95 to 17 and A1A. We parked at Front Street on Fernandina Beach, where everything was in walking distance.

First was our river tour to Cumberland Island where our guide narrated the history of the islands dating back to1562 when a Frenchman was the first visitor by the name Jean Ribault. Then the Spanish defeated the French and founded St Augustine in 1565. They named the island Santa Maria which was derived from and mission, later destroyed by the English and renamed Amelia after the daughter of George II. Amelia Island is Florida's Golden Isle which the French visited, the Spanish developed, the English named and the Americans tamed. It is the only U.S. location the have been under eight different flags. While in the harbor you will watch the shrimp boats come in to get weighed. Today there is a paper mill which brings in money for their industry. Amelia has a lot of beautiful wildlife such and birds, manatees, sea turtles, otters, horses and bobcats. Many famous people have owned property here and have visited the islands.

After the river cruise we ate at Brett Waterway Café and enjoyed good food and great friends. It started to rain as we were finishing lunch but it seemed to clear soon after. We then shopped and walked the town of paved bricks. Some took the trolley tour and some decided to head home. There are 40 blocks of historic businesses and homes, 60 shops and 25 restaurants which are some of Florida's most elegant Victorian homes.

We visited Fort Clinch, on the Florida- Georgia border. It was built on the property to guard the mouth of the St. Mary's River, protect coastal and interior shipping and defend the deepwater port of Fernandina Fl. Construction began in 1847 on Fort Clinch and was named in honor of General Duncan Lamont Clinch, an officer who fought in the Second Seminole War. The Confederate Flag was raised, President Jefferson Davis sent General Robert E. Lee to inspect and determined that the island was indefensible and recommended a withdrawal. Union control remained and many families built a new life for themselves on Amelia Island.

On the way home we stopped at a cruise'n and then in Daytona for dinner. Thank you to all who showed and made it a great trip.